


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

by moonlitangel



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Baking, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Dancing, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Post-Canon, also there's like one small dirty joke in here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28128621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlitangel/pseuds/moonlitangel
Summary: Christmas was something that they haven't really celebrated in a while. With the Ignis gone and the network being quieter than usual, the Knights of Hanoi decide to try and get in the mood for the holiday season.
Relationships: Revolver | Kougami Ryouken/Spectre
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3





	It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone! ᵔᴥᵔ  
> I hope you enjoy this little something I wrote as a small gift to all the shippers out there.

Kyoko stepped back, resting both of her hands against her hip bones while she critically examined the garland that was neatly wrapped around the crystal white banisters. She thought that the fresh, dark green of the fake-fir-garland already did quite a number in providing more of a festive atmosphere inside their home on water. Yet, it was a bit of a strange sight, given that they had never truly bothered to decorate anything inside the gigantic cruiser they chose to all but live in. The owner of it — the leader of their small organisation — had never been one for variations of colour or anything that wasn't as minimalistic and neutral as possible. White marble seemed to be his absolute favorite, which became quite obvious when one stepped foot into any of his residences.

Upon hearing footsteps approaching, the woman turned to see Aso carrying a large box filled with Christmas ornaments. Kyoko beamed at the sight and reached out to steal a bright red globe that had immediately caught her attention. But Aso, who had seen it coming from a mile away, quickly turned away so the carton was out of her reach.

"For the tree, Miss," he clarified, a small smile tugging on his lips. Heaving a sigh, Kyoko nodded, albeit reluctantly, and concentrated on the garland once more. 

"I feel like something is missing," she mumbled, half to herself, directing Aso's attention to the banister as well. Unlike the woman herself, he understood what must bother her rather quickly. While the garland itself was pleasing to the eye and highly realistic-looking, it was rather plain and simple; certainly _too_ simple for Kyoko's taste.

"Fairy lights, but nothing too flashy. A soft gold in colour, perhaps?"

The gasp that escaped Kyoko was enough to tell him that he had hit the bull's eye. Stepping aside, Aso let her wander off to search for the fitting decor in the living room, where the pile of equipment that they had collected over the past few days was. Most of the items were quite old and had also been used when Ryoken was younger, when his father was still there to celebrate Christmas with him. Once he had vanished, the three commanders had sometimes celebrated Christmas with Ryoken and his friend, Spectre, although it tended to be rather unsuccessful, to say the least.  
The rest of it were new things that Genome had bought, showing what a horrid taste he had. Kyoko had clarified right away that they would not be using a cucumber with googly eyes anywhere. 

While Aso and Kyoko enjoyed decorating the rest of the ship, Spectre, Ryoken and Genome were out to search for a Christmas tree. Frankly, Genome had only decided to accompany the two teens because they didn't have a car, let alone a license. He knew that they most likely wouldn't be able to carry the tree all the way back to the port.

"It's cold," Ryoken noticed after he had set foot on the pavement, reaching down to fumble with the buttons of his black coat. He also tightened the purple scarf around his neck, not wanting to let the cold air anywhere near his skin. Closing the door behind him, Ryoken looked at Spectre, who already walked his way around the vehicle to close the distance between them. They held each other’s hands before they knew it, fingers intertwined, sharing their warmth. Genome couldn't help but to chuckle at the sight.

"I'm cold as well," he playfully whined, offering both of his hands to the couple. But they walked past him without further ado, a cheeky smile on both of their lips. 

The three of them had decided to walk the last few meters that were left to get to the shop, interested to see how Den City prepared for the holiday season. Usually, around that time, Ryoken left the house (or ship) as rarely as possible. He genuinely disliked the cold. Having grown up by the beach, Ryoken had always been much more of a summer type of person, preferring to bask in the heat of the sun and cool down in the sea. Spectre knew that much, and was also aware of how ridiculously easy it was for Ryoken to all but freeze. Thus, he had forced him to wear a warm sweater and boots beforehand. Spectre had also brought gloves for them to use, however Ryoken was much more content with having skin-to-skin contact, it seemed. Not that he minded.

The sun had already set around an hour ago, leaving behind a black void full of little stars. A bit of snow was on the sidewalk, crunching beneath their soles with each and every step they took. Fairy lights in all kinds of colors, with blue and red and green dominating, clung to balconies and trees, illuminating their way. The atmosphere that was successfully created due to the decor warmed their hearts, even made them a little more eager to be part of such a peculiar tradition.

On their way to achieve their goal of bringing the perfect tree back home, they passed by quite a few shops, too. Most of which had upgraded for the holidays, of course; Not only were there figures of Santa Claus and angels and whatnot displayed in the shops' windows, but also various ornaments. Ryoken doubted that some of them could even be considered a _Christmas_ ornament.

"There's another one of those bizarre cucumbers," Ryoken pointed out, mentioning to one of a pink-ish colour. It had a small mouth and its supposed tongue was sticking out, an annoyingly teasing look in it's badly painted cartoon eyes. Spectre grimaced. Genome suddenly appeared right next to Ryoken and batted his eyelashes at him. 

"Ryoken-sama, I'll work overtime if you let me buy this and put it on our tree."

"No. Absolutely not."

"You truly have the worst taste," Spectre added what both him and Ryoken were thinking. 

Eventually, the three of them arrived at a small spot where seemingly hundreds of trees were displayed. Some smaller than others, with either long or short branches, with pointed and flattened tips. An elderly man greeted them, offering hot drinks and pastries. He asked away about their wishes and preferences, to neither of which they could give a proper answer to. Ryoken thought of the vendor's exhausting selling-method as unfathomable. Annoyingly enough, it dragged on for too long; Spectre was quick to try and make it end. One calculated death glare was all it took for the man to shiver and withdraw into the crowd.   
Ryoken released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding once they were left to fend for themselves. He wrapped his arm around Spectre's, squeezing himself against him for no reason in particular.

"I haven't even thought about what kind of tree we need."

Spectre looked at the other one and tilted his head to the side. "We're looking for one you like. I doubt that it will be difficult."

"You're wrong," Genome chimed in, "Kyoko and Aso always needed _at least_ an hour to find a good one."

Ryoken raised an eyebrow. "An hour? You can't be serious. We won't need that long."

To him, it was unbelievable. Although it was already unbelievable to him that they were even doing this in the first place. Ryoken had never been one to be keen on celebrating anything. Especially his birthday was a day he had always avoided to celebrate, a day he had usually spent in isolation. However, ever since Spectre and him had shared their first kiss, it became increasingly difficult toisolate himself. Now that they were practically always together, clinging to each other in one way or another, being separated left a bit of an empty feeling in their hearts. A void that only their significant other could fill. 

Christmas, however, had always been a different case. The Christmas tradition of the Knights of Hanoi (starting at age 11 for Ryoken) had been as follows; Each and every member, no matter their position, was permitted to have a few days off. Given that Aso, Kyoko and Genome had moved in with Ryoken when Dr. Kogami had been taken away, they could easily get together to share a more luxurious dinner over a bit of small talk and fine wine (only for the adults, of course). Buying and decorating a tree had always been a bit of a hassle considering Spectre's background. Usually, they had tended to avoid getting a real one in order to avoid a small, crying Spectre.  
The mansion, however, had always been decorated by the three commanders. Unfortunately, the tradition came to an abrupt end when Ryoken turned sixteen, for unknown reasons. They hadn't celebrated Christmas since.

How and why Ryoken had decided to try and celebrate Christmas again in the first place was lost to him. Perhaps, he wanted to remember what it was like to properly celebrate Christmas. Perhaps, he had seen how interested Spectre was in trying to decorate the ship, had seen how his eyes sparkled a little while he had searched for inspiration on the internet. Perhaps, that alone had been enough for a change of heart.

Ultimately, it didn't matter, because there was no way they could back down from this. 

For Spectre, the journey of looking for the right tree wasn't all too difficult. Neither Ryoken nor Genome were surprised about it. All the pine trees were beautiful and unique in their own way, Spectre thought. He could have talked about it for hours and hours on end.  
Ryoken didn't think that he'd actually care about whether the tree was too small, too big or not thick enough, but proved himself wrong when he actually started to think about how many ornaments could fit on it and tried to imagine what it would look like in their living room. 

"I think it should be a little bigger. Not much, just a little."

Spectre hummed in thought while he eyed the tree, hearing Genome sigh heavily behind them. The man was eager to finish picking out a tree before they'd pass the one hour mark, just so he could prove that Aso and Kyoko had always been too picky. He hadn't expected the leader of Hanoi himself to get into it, of all people. Spectre certainly didn't mind it taking a little longer because Ryoken decided to put more thought into it after all. In fact, he thought of it as rather endearing and enjoyed to observe how his significant other took a closer look at them, with his eyes narrowed in concentration.   
Spectre turned his head to look around the place, gently squeezing Ryoken's hand once he spotted yet another tree that he thought might be more to Ryoken's liking.

"What about this one?" He asked, catching Ryoken's attention. His icy blue eyes widened ever so slightly. Ryoken all but dragged Spectre over to the pine tree to take a closer look at it, Genome following close behind. Even he would have to admit that the tree seemed to be just enough for what they had planned. Fortunately, Ryoken seemed to agree, beaming ever so slightly as he looked at his lover and nodded. 

"Thank the nonexistent Christmas spirits," Genome breathed, hurrying to search for the vendor. They still had a couple more minutes left to beat Aso and Kyoko. 

"I must admit that it saddens me a little," Spectre muttered, his focus back on the tree that stood tall and proud before them. Ryoken blinked, dumbfounded, but already knew what Spectre meant and what he was going to say next.

"Killing all those trees to have a fancy decoration for a few days ... I can't say that it is a concept I am fond of."

"We don't _have_ to get a real one," Ryoken argued, resting his head against Spectre's shoulder while also looking at the tree. It wasn't the least bit surprising that Spectre would have something against the infamous tradition. Ryoken had noticed before that he wasn't all too keen on getting a tree, but it hadn't seemed to bother him _that_ much. Briefly, Ryoken wondered if he should have put more thought into how his lover could feel about it. However, before he could break his head about such things again, he felt Spectre press a kiss on top of his head, causing his heart to flutter.

"I'm fine. If they don't sell out they'll immediately get disposed of. Thus, I suppose it's best to buy one and take proper care of it."  
Spectre wanted to add that it _would_ pain him to gradually watch it die, but he decided against it. It would only cause his concerned lover to jump on another train of thoughts and doubt his decisions. Spectre didn't want to be the cause of that, especially not after they had just so managed to get Ryoken to agree on taking more time off to enjoy the holidays.

Still, that statement didn't sit well with Ryoken, but as he parted his lips to say something, Genome came back to announce that he had successfully bought the tree.

From that point on, they had to figure out how to safely get it to Genome's car. Transporting it didn't seem to be as challenging as they had feared, once they got the hang of it. Especially for Ryoken, who didn't have to do anything, because the other two men had insisted on carrying the tree on their own. 

"You have no faith in me, do you?" Ryoken questioned as they had already managed a good half of the way, arms crossed in front of his chest. Spectre frowned. He had all the faith in Ryoken, really, but he also knew that his lover wasn't exactly the strongest man out there. In fact, he was rather sure that nothing good could come out of Ryoken trying to carry a tree or anything that weighed more than one kilogram.

"Of course we do, Ryoken-sama. We just don't want you to exhaust yourself," Genome decided to try and save them, somehow, and magnificently failed. Ryoken pouted and walked over to the beginning of the tree trunk, which Genome held. 

"Let me do it," he all but commanded - and despite the incredibly displeased glare that Spectre threw his way, Genome let him.

It was certainly heavy. Ryoken had guessed that much, and he struggled to take his first steps. However, after getting a little used to it, it was manageable. He could feel both Genome's and Spectre's eyes on himself the entire time, as if they were _waiting_ for something to happen. The parking lot was already close and Ryoken was confident that he could hold on until then, despite his arms already straining quite a bit. 

"See? It's easy." Ryoken was audibly out of breath.

"Don't jinx yourself," Genome warned, sighing. 

Ryoken couldn't help but to roll his eyes in annoyance. He was up and ready to defend himself and assure them that everything was going to be fine — but just then, the snow underneath Ryoken's boots caused him to slip and fall. The tree trunk hit him right in the stomach as he landed on his butt with a soft 'thud'. Genome had the audacity to laugh while Spectre could feel his heart stop beating. He dropped the tree to hurry over to Ryoken, who was all curled in on himself, clutching his stomach with his eyes squeezed shut. Wrapping an arm around Ryoken's shoulders, Spectre kneeled down next to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding just as panicked as he felt. 

"F-fine, fine." Ryoken groaned. "Could be worse." His stomach was pulsating where the tree trunk had hit him. It caused him to feel a little nauseous, but he doubted that it was anything serious. Perhaps, he'd be left with a bruise, but nothing more than that. However, Spectre was already used to Ryoken playing each and every injury or pain down, thus he was being extra cautious. Moving just a little closer, his eyes almost bore into Ryoken's own ones.

"Are you sure? Be honest with me."

Ryoken opened his mouth to speak, but Genome was quicker, unfortunately.

"Spectre, don't worry. Even if he also fell on his butt and you might have to skip tonight's fun-time, it'll be fine."

Usually, Genome's rather rude sense of humor did tickle Spectre's funny bone at least a little bit. However, considering that Ryoken had actually been _hurt_ and Genome had nothing better to do than howling with laughter, Spectre couldn't think of it as amusing. Even if Ryoken's red face and wide eyes were utterly adorable, the joke was uncalled for.  
Spectre reached for a bit of snow and, after having let go of Ryoken, pressed it into a small ball before he threw it right at Genome's head. He winced and shivered as the cold hit him. Ryoken gasped and covered his mouth, effectively stifling his giggles. Being the responsible leader he was, he didn't hesitate to scold Spectre, although it didn't sound like he actually meant any of what he was saying.

"I'm not going to apologize for that," Spectre said, placing a kiss on Ryoken's cheek before he wrapped his arm around him once more.

Genome laughed it off, focusing on trying to get the remains of snow away from his green locks. "Neither am I."

Instead of wasting anymore time, Spectre decided that it would be best to carry his lover the rest of the way to the car and didn't hesitate to lift him up bridal-like. It certainly didn't help Ryoken to calm the heavy blush that dusted his cheeks, but he wrapped his arms around Spectre's neck and thanked him regardless. Genome was left with the tree on his own, but had no trouble dragging it to the car and securing it on top of the vehicle.

When the three of them finally arrived at the ship after what seemed to be hours, most of the interior had already been decorated. Apart from the garland that Kyoko was definitely the most proud of, all the windows were filled with stars and snowflakes, candles and fairy lights were all over the place as well as a few red and green rugs that Ryoken had never seen before.

Kyoko proudly presented the work that she did, whilst Aso and Genome carried the tree inside. Ryoken was a little taken away by how festive the inside of his home could look with a little bit of effort, but didn't comment on it. The little spark in his eyes was enough of a compliment to Kyoko, anyway. 

After taking off his coat and boots, Ryoken decided to take a look at himself in the mirror. The blue sweater he was wearing, which seemed to match his eyes perfectly, had a few white snowflakes on it. His pants were white, and he wondered if he should rather wear black ones. He left the purple scarf tied around his throat for the time being, still feeling a few shivers run through him as he had been out in the cold for so long. Soon, Spectre joined him and put his arms around his waist, pulling Ryoken against his chest and resting his chin on top of his head.

"Of course you got a green sweater with a tree on it," Ryoken mumbled, half to himself, mentioning to the sweater that Spectre had chosen for himself. It was a little silly, in his opinion, to have bought Christmas sweaters as well, but the commanders had also somehow talked him into that. 

"Of course. But I'd rather talk about the real tree and how we should decorate it."

"I'm not good with colors."

Spectre frowned. "Nonsense. We'll do it together and it'll look good."

Spectre left him no more room to argue, already gently pulling Ryoken along to get to the living room. In hindsight, it appeared that they had indeed chosen the right tree. It looked quite pretty in the corner of the room, right next to the TV, even if not a single ornament was hanging from the branches just yet. Upon entering the room and passing by the white leather couch, a red carpet all but jumped into Ryoken's view. He hadn't seen it before, either, and guessed that Kyoko must have gotten it here to add a little more color to the usually plain white room. 

Carefully, he approached the tree. Ryoken's gaze wandered to the box with all kinds of ornaments and bent down to pick one of them up to examine it. A pretty, golden globe was what he held in his hands, with white dots on it. Spectre hummed and searched for an ornament that might be more to Ryoken's liking, handing him a yellow star after taking a few other items out and placing them aside.

"Should we put this one up first?"

Ryoken nodded. With that first ornament, an hour of decorating ticked by in a flash. What the two of them adored the most was it just being them, searching for decor that they liked and putting it on the tree, all while having a bit of small talk every now and then.  
Admittedly, Ryoken thought of the result as beyond acceptable. They had focused on colors such as red, yellow, white and green, with a touch of blue here and there. Most of the ornaments were simple globes in all kinds of sizes, but they had also found a few more stars and snowflakes.

Taking a deep breath, Ryoken allowed his body to sink to the ground, taking a seat on the red carpet. He let his hand run over it's surface and paid special attention to how soft and fluffy it was - almost like an invitation to lay down and take a nap. Now that the tree had been taken care of, it was difficult to resist the urge to take a break from all the decorating. Spectre adjusted a few more ornaments, but was quick to notice that the past few hours had significantly drained Ryoken. He had almost expected this, considering that putting so much effort into decorating had never truly been something Ryoken necessarily liked to do. Besides, it _was_ important to take a break every now and then. Knowing that his lover would never truly allow himself to do so before all the work was done and taken care of, Spectre kneeled down next to him and patted his lap. Ryoken threw a questioning look at him. Nothing but a small smile was offered in response. 

Taking the hint, Ryoken shifted and sighed. He laid down on the carpet and used Spectre's lap as a pillow for his head. Spectre's fingers found their way to Ryoken's white locks, running through them with much care and tenderness. That and the golden fairy lights that were wrapped around the tree could have created a spell that was strong enough to drag Ryoken to dream land - however, he still found himself fighting against the inevitable.

"It's okay," Spectre's voice was barely above a whisper, "Kyoko wants us to make cookies as well. You're going to need your energy for that, I'm sure."

Ryoken grimaced. He wasn't a fan of cooking nor baking. And he wasn't particularly good at it, either, considering that he had always had much better things to do than to focus on getting the hang of such a trivial skill. Frankly, Ryoken sometimes shouldn't even be allowed in the kitchen.  
Heaving a sigh, he finally allowed his eyes to flutter shut.

"Alright. You sure you need _me_ for that?"

"Very sure. Unless you're still in pain. In which case, please don't hesitate to tell me, Ryoken-sama."

"I assure you I'm fine. And we're going to do this."

Ryoken sighed again, but didn't comment any further. After all, he had already agreed to everything that ' _getting into the mood for the holiday season_ ' entailed once the three commanders had made the suggestion. Frankly, Ryoken didn't mind to spend some time with his family and his lover to celebrate Christmas just this once. However, a small part of his also felt rather guilty for neglecting his duties.

All such thoughts slowly wandered to the back of his mind as he began to focus more on the way Spectre caressed his hair. It lulled him to sleep quicker than he had expected it to, which Spectre was thankful for. Being able to get Ryoken to take a break was a true blessing, sometimes, with how he tended to over-do it.  
Kyoko soon joined them in the living room, sitting down on the couch with a cup of tea in her hands. Spectre's back faced her, thus he had to turn his upper body a little to be able to look over to her. He chuckled as quietly as possible when he saw the sweater that she was wearing; it was red and had all kinds of colored dots on it. Spectre certainly wouldn't wear such a thing.

"Is he asleep?" Kyoko raised the cup to her lips, taking a small, tentative sip from it. Spectre hummed in affirmation and took a deep breath, the smell of Kyoko's cinnamon apple spice tea invading his nose. A comforting scent.

"What do you think? Does he enjoy any of this?" There was a hint of uncertainty in her tone as she voiced the question. Unlike Spectre, Kyoko was fairly unskilled at deciphering what went through the leader's head, often unable to tell whether something displeased him or not. 

"At least a little," Spectre murmured, fixating his gaze on the sleeping beauty again. He carefully untangled a small knot in Ryoken's hair and felt him shift ever so slightly. Spectre almost feared that that would be enough to wake Ryoken, but he only nuzzled his face further into his scarf. Briefly, he remembered how Ryoken's eyes had sparkled a few times throughout the day, how a precious smile had tugged on his lips. That had been more than enough to prove to Spectre that all of this wasn't an entirely awful idea.

"And? What about you?" 

"As long as he enjoys it, I do too."

Spectre would have to admit that adding richer colours to their home was very much to his liking. Whilst he would never complain about the lack of it, Spectre liked to observe and experiment with how colours either complemented or rivaled each other. 

"Sure, sure." Kyoko sighed and shook her head, getting up from her seat as something else seemed to have caught her attention. Before she left the room once more, she informed Spectre that she'd take a look at what the other boys were doing, if only to make sure that they wouldn't ruin her marvellous decor. Spectre knew that especially Genome had the potential to do just that.

Besides, he always preferred to be left alone with Ryoken. Even if he, more often than not, enjoyed the company of the other three adults on the ship. So long as they didn't deposit a whole new weight on Ryoken's fragile shoulders.

After an hour or so that Spectre spent in silence, Ryoken stirred as he was in the process of waking up. Spectre watched him, smiling to himself once the bright blue orbs, glassy with remains of sleep, greeted him. His hand kept brushing through the snow-white strands of hair. A heartbeat passed and Ryoken was suddenly seated on Spectre's lap, arms winded around his neck.

"Are you feeling more energised?"

Ryoken didn't answer the question and initiated a kiss instead. Closing his eyes into it, a soft hum escaped him, vibrating against Spectre's lips.  
Smiling, he wrapped his arms around Ryoken's waist, hands wandering underneath his sweater, and pinched the skin there. Ryoken sucked in a sharp breath and the squeak that escaped him caused Spectre's heart to skip a beat.

" _Spectre_ ," Ryoken warningly called, obviously not up to being teased right after waking up. 

"My apologies, I couldn't help it." An apologetic kiss was placed on the tip of Ryoken's nose. 

"Now that you are awake, I suggest we make our way to the kitchen, if you're feeling up to it."

Baking would be a difficult task, if not the most difficult one. Ryoken was rather certain that Spectre, Aso and Kyoko could manage just fine on their own, yet Spectre insisted that they'd do it on their own. While Ryoken understood that his lover most likely didn't want him to be excluded, he wondered if it was worth the chaos that may or may not erupt. Frankly, Ryoken wasn't up to being injured _again_ , either, although he doubted that such a thing could occur in the kitchen while he was under Spectre's watchful eye.

Albeit reluctantly, Ryoken got to his feet, took a hold of Spectre's hand and left the living room with him. Walking through the now decorated corridors of the ship left him staring a little, all the lights and the glitter and reds and greens quite the unfamiliar sight to him. Ryoken couldn't tell whether or not he was fond of it.

Arriving in the kitchen, he saw that the dough for the cookies had already been prepared and laid out on the kitchen counter, along with cookie cutters that they could use to shape them. Seeing that most of the process had already been done before they had entered the kitchen, Ryoken emitted a chuckle. 

"I doubt that much can go wrong, in this case."

Both of them chose to wear a simple white apron to keep their sweaters clean. After placing his scarf aside, Ryoken looked at the little motives, which were all Christmas-themed. Spotting a star, he reached for it and looked at the pile of dough. Considering that he had never even tried to make cookies before, Ryoken wasn't all too sure what he should be doing. His gaze wandered back and forth between the cutter and the dough, a wave of confusion washing over him. He wondered whether or not it would really be possible to get the dough into the needed shape when the pile was as big. Shrugging, Ryoken plunged the cookie cutter into it, pressing down as hard as he could whilst trying to get a well-shaped cookie out of it. Spectre noticed him doing so when it was too late to stop him, but quickly joined Ryoken at the counter to pry his hands away from the dough.

"Ryoken-sama, we need to divide the dough in separate balls and roll each of them out first."

Ryoken blinked, clearly bewildered. It sounded logical and he felt rather embarrassed for not having thought of that. Spectre sighed softly. 

"Watch," Spectre instructed. Even before coming into the kitchen he knew that he'd have to show Ryoken the process first and foremost. Nonetheless, Spectre couldn't blame Ryoken for not knowing about something as simple as that. The teen had spent most of his life locked up in an office, trying to hunt down a species that his own father had created. Ridden by guilt, Ryoken had never been able to find much interest in anything else, hence why he was rather oblivious, sometimes.   
  
After reaching for a bit of flour and spreading it on the counter, Spectre rolled out the dough.

 ****"Now," Spectre gently curled his fingers over Ryoken's wrist and tugged him closer, "you can use the cookie cutter."

Ryoken swallowed the lump in his throat and pressed the cutter into the dough. His eyes flickered over to Spectre, silently asking what he was supposed to do. Instead of messing up again, Ryoken wanted to make sure that he was doing everything correctly. Spectre decided to pull Ryoken even closer to him so that he was standing right in front of him, back pressed against his chest. Taking both of Ryoken's hands, Spectre showed him what he should do.

Obviously, Ryoken watched intently, memorizing the way Spectre moved his hands. He was being as gentle and careful as ever, handling Ryoken like a fragile porcelain doll. The somewhat granular flour on their skin irritated him a little, especially since he liked to feel Spectre's soft skin against his own one. Still, his heartbeat picked up, and after Spectre had helped him to cut out three cookies, Ryoken's attention shifted to his lover's face. 

Subconsciously, Spectre was smiling just a little while he continued to handle the dough and Ryoken's hands with great care. His jaw was a little tense as he seemed to focus on nothing else but how their hands moved simultaneously. A few strands of hair had fallen out of place and hung just in front of his eye, yet it didn't distract him in the slightest. Spectre really was handsome, Ryoken thought, feeling warm and fuzzy, as he often did when he was with Spectre. A soft pink spread on his cheeks just in time with Spectre craning his head to look at Ryoken. Once there was a smirk on his lips, Ryoken's heart skipped a beat.

"Do you understand?"

Ryoken hadn't been paying attention for the past thirty seconds or so, but it didn't matter. 

"Can I kiss you?"

Frankly, a rather ridiculous question - they stole kisses from each other again and again, like the other's lips belonged to them, anyway. Yet, the question caused a fluttery feeling in Spectre's chest. Despite Ryoken having asked, it was Spectre who leaned in to close the distance between their lips. With their eyes closed, they basked in the soft pressure of it, staying connected until they were out of breath. Spectre placed another small peck on Ryoken's bottom lip before he patted his shoulder and stepped away. There was almost a bit of disappointment that spread through Ryoken, given that one or two kisses could never be quite enough to satisfy him. Especially not after he had quietly admired Spectre as he had.

He could only watch as Spectre walked to the other end of the kitchen, where a small radio stood right next to the coffee machine. After pressing down on a button to turn it on and flipping through a few channels, he returned to Ryoken's side, showed him a smile, and focused on the cookies. A small pout rested on Ryoken's lips. He almost wanted to complain about how and why Spectre chose to neglect him right then and there, when his heart was aching for less space between them. However, he remained silent, thinking that they'd have enough time for it later on.

 ****Initially, Spectre wanted to listen to a bit of music, but the news came first. There seemed to be nothing of interest, except SOL announcing a new update for Link Vrains as a gift to their loyal users. It perfectly distracted Ryoken, made him wonder what that could be all about and hoped that it wouldn't end up causing him yet another headache. Neither of them commented on it, and the music gradually filled the empty silence between them as they focused on the cookies.

> ' _It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.'_

It wasn't long until Ryoken was pulled out of his thoughts. He gazed at the cookie cutter in his hand that resembled a reindeer. The surreal feeling of it all invaded his mind and body. Even if he tried, Ryoken wouldn't be able to remember the last time he (or they) did something as ordinary as baking cookies together, let alone decorating their home _and_ a tree in order to celebrate a mere holiday. 

Yet, as domestic and ordinary as it was, Ryoken truly enjoyed it, despite knowing that there were other, more important things that could use a good portion of his attention and focus.   
He grabbed another cookie cutter, a snowman, and used the last bit of dough to get it into shape. Carefully placing it on the baking sheet, he cleaned his hands with a towel before he took off the apron, folded it, and neatly placed it over a chair. Looking over to Spectre, Ryoken noticed that he was done, too.

Their eyes met and Ryoken felt his heart grow heavy in his chest. Spectre offered him his hand, and bowed like a true gentleman. 

"May I have this dance?"

Ryoken felt the urge to laugh. Never before had he been asked to dance and he couldn't say that he was familiar with the arts of it, despite having been forced to take lessons once. Often clumsy and awkward on his feet, Ryoken would rather trust himself to sing a melody correctly. Yet, he felt like there was nothing more he could have wanted in that moment. Thus, Ryoken nodded, feeling a little timid, and accepted his lover's hand.  
Between the two of them, Spectre was more experienced in most areas that could be useful in the normal, everyday life. Be it cooking, baking or gardening - or something more artistic, such as literature and dancing. Spectre seemed to be just the type for it all. Unfortunately, the one and only thing that he hadn't learned just yet, much to Ryoken's dismay, was the art of handling an instrument. The piano or the violin would be a perfect match for Spectre, Ryoken thought.

Wrapping his free arm around Ryoken's waist, Spectre brought their bodies closer together and urged the other man to place a hand on his shoulder. Ryoken did as he was told, looking into Spectre's eyes while waiting to be guided. His heart pounded in his ears, feeling nervous for the first time in a long while. But why was he feeling nervous? He knew that he couldn't possibly disappoint his darling Spectre. Yet, Ryoken's shoulders were tense and his eyes all but trembled as they searched for any sign of reassurance on Spectre's face. Unlike Ryoken, Spectre was as relaxed as he could possibly be, keeping his arm securely around Ryoken's waist, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. The uncertainty that surrounded him certainly didn't go unnoticed by Spectre - having learned how to read Ryoken over the last couple of years, it was an easy change to pick up on.

"Just follow me."

There was still a smile on his lips that Ryoken saw rather frequently. It told him more than a thousand words could, reminded him that he was safer than ever, that there was no need to be nervous. It was just them, after all.

Spectre started to move. Albeit involuntarily, a silent gasp escaped Ryoken, his heart jumping around like a grade schooler's who had just experienced his very first kiss. Much like he had guessed, it wasn't easy to 'just follow' Spectre. While he made an effort to keep a slow pace with a simple step sequence, Ryoken perceived it as challenging to keep up with. His gaze was directed at the ground, observing the way Spectre's feet moved, trying to remember and copy it. At first, Spectre allowed him to do so, hoping that it would calm his nerves a little.

"Ryoken, do you trust me?"

The question reached his ears completely out of the blue and caught Ryoken off guard. Looking up to meet Spectre's eyes, a confused 'huh?' escaped him, his eyebrows furrowed. If there was anyone he could trust in this world, it was Spectre, without a doubt. With all the time they had spent together and everything that they had shared, pains and pleasures and whatnot, Ryoken doubted that there was anyone he could trust and love more than Spectre. 

Thus, he voiced his answer immediately and without hesitation, "Of course I do."

Despite knowing the answer, it would always flatter Spectre. He himself entrusted Ryoken with his life, and knowing that Ryoken did the same caused butterflies to fly round his stomach. Spectre continued to lead them around the room as they spoke, successfully distracting Ryoken, who was following him in perfect harmony, without noticing.

"Thank you. Keep you eyes on me, then. Focus on me _._ I got you."

After taking a deep breath, Ryoken managed a small smile and nodded, feeling his heart grow a little lighter. He realized that there was no need to take it as serious as he had; and when Spectre smiled with him again, the last bit of tension faded. Graceful at first, their movements gradually adjusted to what was flowing through their hearts; still in time with the music, they skipped steps and swayed around the large space of the kitchen, mindful of the furniture in the room. Occasionally, Ryoken would accidentally bump into Spectre, yet he didn't seem to mind - thus, Ryoken didn't mind, either.

Ryoken hadn't expected to have as much fun as he did, even laughed when Spectre suddenly picked him up and spun them around like a carousel. Spectre almost felt his heart burst as it leaped in his chest over and over again.  
Ryoken's laughter was so free and pure, so childish. So beautiful. A sound that blessed Spectre's ears.

Before they'd feel dizzy, Spectre halted their movements and leaned in to rest his forehead against Ryoken's own one, enabling them to breathe each other in. The moment felt surreal, like a dream, even if they had shared many happy moments during the time they've been together, even more ever since they had realized the love they held for the other.

Ryoken grinned from ear to ear, his breath a little unsteadier than before. He could feel Spectre's hands on his lower back, thumb lazily wandering up and down his sacrum.

"Do you understand any of what they are singing?"

Spectre chuckled and shook his head no. "Not a word. But I'm certain it's your typical English Christmas carol."

"You sure? Could be French," Ryoken mused.

"Ryoken-sama, please, that is most definitely not French."

It was Ryoken's turn to chuckle. "I know, I'm just messing with you."

It wasn't long until the music stopped and another song started to play.

The two of them left the kitchen thereafter, with bright smiles on their lips. Still holding onto each other’s hands, it was Ryoken who lead them through the corridors, the melody of the music they had danced to stuck in their heads. Ryoken felt as light as a feather, as if the weight that he always carried had entirely vanished, if only for a moment.   
Spectre could not only see but feel that something had changed in his lover over the course of the day, and it left him feeling just as happy, knowing that he was part of the reason.

Their feet carried them to the staircase. Along the way, Aso stopped them to ask about the cookies, raising an eyebrow as he noticed how the mood of the two younger ones had significantly changed. At that moment, Spectre realized that they had completely forgotten to put them in the oven.

"You wouldn't mind taking care of that for us, right?" Ryoken asked, his hand already gripping the banister, mindful of the garland that was winded around it. It was obvious that he didn't have the patience nor time to care about such a trivial detail.   
Fortunately, Aso seemed to notice, nodded and let them head to wherever they were headed to - which ended up to be Ryoken's bedroom, although it could also be considered as Ryoken's _and_ Spectre's bedroom.

Even inside of his room, a white fairy light right above his bed illuminated the dark space, as well as the moonlight that shone through the large window. Wordlessly, Ryoken urged Spectre to sit down on the bed and walked to the wardrobe, opening one of the drawers to search through its contents. Spectre leaned back on his hands, head tilted to the side, gaze fixated on Ryoken.

"What now?" 

"Not what you're thinking about."

Spectre smirked. "I'm not thinking about anything."

After closing the drawer again, Ryoken hid something behind his back, and showed a humorous grin of his own whilst he approached Spectre again.

"That's a lie and you know it. But before we do anything else, I want to give you something."

There were still a few nights ahead of them until Christmas, but Ryoken had decided that he couldn't wait anymore, and that the timing couldn't possibly be better. Despite his doubts, the day, especially the evening, had turned out to be one of the most enjoyable ones he ever had.  
Spectre's confusion was evident even before Ryoken held out a small box for him to take, neatly packaged with red paper and a white bow. With wide eyes, Spectre gratefully accepted it and waited for Ryoken to sit down next to him before he voiced his thoughts.

"I'm truly honoured, but you didn't have to get me a present-"

"Christmas is just the right season for showing gratitude, isn't it? And I've been wanting to show you how thankful I am to have you for quite some time now."

Admittedly, Spectre thought that Ryoken didn't have to show him that in any way, shape or form — the love that they gave each other on the daily was enough to reflect just that. It was more than he ever could have hoped for in life, really. Despite always having yearned for more, Spectre had never expected to be more than Ryoken's most trusted friend, and had always been beyond satisfied with being just that. Frankly, how their relationship developed over the past years had exceeded Spectre's wildest dreams and filled him with an inconceivable amount of happiness and gratitude.  
Now, Spectre was a little overwhelmed by his lover's sudden need to express such gratitude in more of a materialistic manner. He placed the box in his lap and smiled appreciative, unwrapping the present with much care, albeit a little nervously. Ryoken watched excitedly and leaned against Spectre's side, eager to see his reaction.

What Spectre soon held in his hands was a silver pocket watch. Its fob had the word 'always' engraved in it. The inside of it, which Spectre came to see after applying pressure to the small button on the side of it, showed a tree that reminded him of Sunavalon Dryatrentiay with a generous number of stars in the background. Words wouldn't be able to describe what Spectre felt, but his wide eyes and parted lips were enough for Ryoken to understand that he _hadn't_ chosen the wrong gift.

"I'm - it's-" Spectre needed a moment, "Beautiful. I'm at a loss for words."

A quiet chuckle escaped Ryoken. He leaned over to press a kiss to Spectre's cheek, but he barely even noticed the light pressure against his skin, still too focused on staring at the watch. The fact that Ryoken had taken his time to get something like this made for him already meant the world. Only when Ryoken spoke up again did Spectre look at him, immediately reaching out to pull him into a tight embrace. While Spectre still struggled to believe that all of this was happening, Ryoken couldn't stop smiling, and nuzzled his face into the crook of Spectre's neck.

"I'm glad you like it," Ryoken's voice was a little muffled, "I wanted to get you something meaningful and practical. Thought an old-style watch with our favourite things would be the most suitable."

"Thank you," Spectre pulled back a little to be able to look into Ryoken's eyes, smiling, "It's perfect. I love it. I love you."

Ryoken didn't know if his smile could get any bigger. He gently placed a hand on Spectre's cheek. "I love you too. Always have and always will."

Much like magnets, their lips were drawn to one another again, and neither of them could stop smiling as their hearts happily danced in their chests. They couldn't stop kissing, either, wanting nothing more than to be as close to each other as humanly possible, to drown in their love. In the midst of it all, Spectre only briefly remembered to put his wonderful present aside before he lowered himself onto Ryoken, taking a hold of his hand once more to press a kiss on every knuckle.

"Allow me to show you my gratitude as well."

Running a hand through Spectre's hair, Ryoken leaned his head back on the fluffy pillows, nodding. A wave of excitement washed over him.

"Just know that you don't have to give me anything just because I did," Ryoken clarified. Spectre had expected such an answer, but didn't argue against it. Instead, he switched to Ryoken's other hand to shower it with kisses.

For the time being, he would concentrate on nothing else but this - later on, he would most likely try to come up with a good idea for something that could make Ryoken happy, too.  
Even if Spectre knew that his love is enough of a gift for Ryoken, a gift that makes him happier than anything else ever could.  
And the same goes for Spectre, without saying.

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus:
> 
> "Spectre, I'm feeling rather jealous ... of my own hands."
> 
> Spectre blinked as Ryoken's words pulled him out of his thoughts. Smiling easily, he pressed one last kiss to the palm of Ryoken's hand.
> 
> "My apologies, Ryoken. But don't fret, I'll give the rest of your body just as much attention."
> 
> Ryoken: (*ﾉ∀`*)


End file.
